Vastly different from Randy Travis’ popular “Diggin Up Bones,” was the scene in our back yard during the last rainy day…

Walking by the kitchen window we looked and saw the rear view of our once-white poodle, Lexi—now almost black—with mud flying in earnest between her back legs. We went outside and discovered that she’d started to uncover a previously buried bone. We left her to her treasure.

Several hours later there’s a reverse performance. Having licked the bone clean, she’s now bent on re-burying it—this time by the railroad tie. Perhaps a better landmark?

When was the last time you dug up bones, or as Randy Travis would say, “exhumed things better left alone?”

22 thoughts on “Diggin’ Up Bones”

Hmm? My dogs don’t dig up their bones or bury them, just leave them lying about…
As for the last time I dug up bones, has been very recent. There is a saying in AA about looking at the past, but not closing the door on it. In the light of that you can see where you been to look at where you wish to go.

We’ve been dog-less for so many years, I forgot about them burying bones. When was the last time I’ve dug up a bone better left alone? Hmmmm….I’m not sure there was one that should have been left alone. Every dug-up bone reveals something useful, some awareness, I think, whether our mind likes it or not. There might be an example where things should have stayed hidden, but can’t come up with it now.

Thank you so much, Laurie. This is one of my favorite songs, sung by one of my favourite artists.
Digging up bones… Much like Kathy, I never let one be. I have encountered some jagged edged bones that hurt my fingers, but I even play with these.
About a dog…
I’ve been blessed to have many canine companions. The first entered my life when I was two. I’ve been ‘dog-less’ (Thank you, Kathy, for this word.) for more years than I like. So, I am now a frequent visitor to the BCSPCA (British Columbia SPCA) website. I search page after page and dream of adoption day.
What’s stopping me from making that day this day?
I have a 16-year-old cat that would make everyone’s life horrible if I dare. I love her and respect her wishes.

Leanne – I like Randy Travis too. I agree that it would probably be a difficult adjustment to introduce a dog into a 16-year-old cat’s well-established lifestyle. How nice that you’re honoring her wishes.

My puppy usually leaves bones around the house and we pick up toys and bones and put them in a basket before brushing and bedtime…he will bury bones under furniture and he loves by the clock in the dining room. He always knows where he left them and that amazes me.

Digging up old bones…well,I am still paying off Zip’s surgery for crunching off a bone joint knob and getting it stuck in his throat….we had to drive to 2 emergency care facilities and it was $3,000 dollars to save his life….the hard part, was you had to prepay with your credit card and that was all I had left on the card – so if they could not have gotten it out, we would have had to put him down. IT was quite the day and all night stand. Dollar by dollar I think of that old bone and how I could have lost my funny guy and good buddy.

although my children had dogs that I helped care for – this is my first dog that is mine. He chased 2 deer out of the garden this morning and was so pleased with himself.

Patricia – Ohhhhhhh, that’s awful what happened to your Zip! If I’m not mistaken, he’s a little Westie, right? On the flip side, I can just see him strutting his stuff after chasing two deer out of the garden 🙂

Yep a Westie with lots of bark and bravado! And he is determined to get a squirrel – I am afraid he will go through one of the glass doors. He is so funny and oh so friendly.

We had another Westie when my oldest was 6 ( now 32) Popcorn was his name and he was of the wide and wonderful style – but not so funny and he chewed up all the children’s shoes – even visitors and his allergies just drove him over the top. He could so jump up and down but he did not like people to be around his children and bit a child who was teasing him. Popcorn was well grounded – wow did he dig up the fenced yard. He got to chase a huge bear out of our compost bin – I think that was the highlight of his life – but he was that fierce a protector against all strangers and we had to give him up.

I occasionally dig up the bones of old memories, mostly good ones, occasionally not so good. However, even those which may not taste very good, the remembering can assist in cleaning out the clutter of the mind and emotions. Life just gets better.
Even when my puppy was alive he never got bones, only the occasional rawhide chewy. So he never had any bones to bury.

Laurie I dug all the way to the back corner of the loft for my stack of charcoal sketches the other day. The space is still in disarray and funny too how those sketches look stronger in my memory than what I found back there. I had a project in mind but gave up on the idea when Iooked at what I had to work with. I shall put it all back later this week and leave it until the next big idea about charcoal sketches catches my fancy.

Terrill – Your comment has me smiling, “…those sketches look stronger in my memory than what I found back there.” Isn’t that the way of it sometimes? Even a shared experience with a sibling can be remembered completely differently by all of the parties involved.

Well Laurie, as to “digging up bones” you do remember my ownership of two labs and a pug, right? Ha! Well, they all speand some time in the backyard, and the lab that’s a hound mix is always digging for something.

When I started reading the Randy Travis song, for some reason Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” came to my mind.

But to respond to your question metaphorically, I recently mentioned something to someone (nothing regrettable, just a piece of information) who then relayed it to someone else. As a result I say to myself now, ‘bad move.’ Ha!

Sam – I can well imagine the lab/hound mix is always game for a good dig! “Treasure Island” was one of Eoghan’s favorite books growing up. We read that book out loud — I don’t know how many times — as a family! He enjoyed “Kidnapped” too, also by Stevenson. I, too, recently shared a piece of information that seemed to have caught hold like wild fire — nothing bad, but it took off like greased lightning. It’s amazing how fast words can spread.

Hi, Laurie — our fascination with digging up the past and excavating history comes to mind. Not only do we physically exhume those dinosaur bones, but we mentally exhume our own histories to examine how relevant those memories are to our present moment. Sometimes, my old bony memories just sort of pop up, reminding me of who I used to be. These are generally moments when I am expecting some sort of perfect behavior from other people. The reward for me is that I get to gnaw on that memory, perhaps reshaping it with my current perspective, making it more palatable and acceptable, and finding a new resting place for it where it will wait until I am ready to play with it again.

Barbara – I love how you addressed this topic! Your phrase, “…reminding me of who I used to be” is oh-so-accurate in that we are constantly changing, evolving into a more positive, uplifting, constructive, and healing person every day. But the real zinger was your last sentence, well worth a repeat here: “The reward for me is that I get to gnaw on that memory, perhaps reshaping it with my current perspective, making it more palatable and acceptable, and finding a new resting place for it where it will wait until I am ready to play with it again.” THANK YOU for sharing your perspective here.